State Senator Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, before the Ohio Senate session on February 22, 2023, at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for the Ohio Capital Journal. Only repost photo with original story.)
When Ohio Republican Sen. Nathan Manning becomes a judge, he leaves behind a competitive Ohio House race. Democrats believe his departure will allow for a smoother elimination of the Republican majority.
On Friday, Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Manning, a moderate Republican, to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He will take over the baton on August 3 from retiring judge Donna Carr.
“I’m looking forward to this new chapter,” Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, said in an interview Monday. “It was always in the back of my mind and it was definitely a dream job.”
After more than a decade in the Statehouse, Manning will leave the Legislature and don a judge’s robe.
“I will miss helping people,” Manning said. “But I think I’ll be able to do it in a different role now.”
The moderate Republican said making the change would be uncomplicated because his main focus during his time in the Legislature was making the criminal justice system fairer.
“Overall, the criminal justice system is a serious problem and it is a two-pronged problem,” he said.
The huge majority of bills he passed or sponsored had bipartisan support, including legislation that made AirTag harassment a crime. He also adopted sweeping criminal justice reforms that expand sealing and expungement of records for some minor crimes, while toughening penalties for domestic violence offenders.
He also brought in millions of dollars in multiple capital budgets for residents of the 13th Senate District.
“Because I’m a politician, I’m not that political,” Manning smiled. “It’s pretty nice to be able to work on issues that aren’t clearly red or blue. These are issues that affect all Ohioans and are something I can work on.”
Manning was the only Republican in the Ohio Senate to vote against the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
Open season
Manning was serving a term in the Senate and was expected to run for his former House seat, now held by his mother, state Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville. It is also moderate.
It’s a seat Democrats, like House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, have already been eyeing.
“This is a seat that leans Democratic, and the Mannings, because of their history in office, have outperformed the primary in this district,” Isaacsohn said.
The district, the central part of Lorain County including Elyria and Avon, has been getting bluer over the years. Republican strategist Bob Clegg said his best chance of retaining the seat is for another moderate to take over.
“It’s a suburban neighborhood,” Clegg said. “Under Trump, we’ve seen a lot of suburbs become less Republican.”
Manning’s absence from the race helps Democrats achieve their goal of flipping eight House seats from Republicans to Democrats, Isaacsohn said. If they can flip six seats, the majority will be broken and the House will no longer be able to override the governor’s veto.
“When Dr. (Amy) Acton becomes our next governor, she will need the ability to veto bills from the Legislature if she is to govern,” Isaacsohn said.
Clegg said Democrats could win the seat, but they wouldn’t break the majority because Republicans were responsible for redistricting.
“I don’t know if the Democrats can win six seats,” Clegg said, chuckling. “We drew the lines.”
We asked him if it was fair that many winners had already been determined since most districts were either solidly red or blue. He said it was because Democrats used to gerrymander when they took control over forty years ago in the 1980s.
If politicians are responsible for the process, this problem will always exist, he laughed.
Lorain County Republicans will have to decide in the fall who will fill Manning’s seat against Democratic business owner Mike Baker in House District 52. He hopes his successor will continue his work and his mentality.
“To win this seat, you have to be bipartisan, you have to be pragmatic, you have to work across the aisle and realize that you don’t just represent your party — you represent everyone,” Manning said.
G. Manning may be appointed to her son’s Senate seat after his resignation at the turn of July and August, as she will run for it in November.
N. Manning would like her to win, he said, jokingly saying he might be “biased.”
State Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst, is also running.
“I am honored to serve as interim speaker, but I will do whatever is best for Senate President, Speaker, and what is right for my district,” G. Manning wrote in a text message.
The 13th Senate District is less blue than the 52nd House District because it also includes part of Huron County and all of Lorain. G. Manning would have everything it takes because, like her son, she is focused on voters and good politics, N. Manning said.
“The best legislators are people who come to learn, who want to help solve problems, and don’t just come in and think they’re the smartest person in the room and want to do X, Y, Z,” Manning said.
Manning will now be on the fall ballot for nomination to the appellate court. It covers Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties and is headquartered in Akron.
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This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
